No label defined (Q3972993)

[For the entire collection see Zbl 0721.00006.] Fix a prime \(p\) and a positive integer \(d\). Suppose that \(k=k_ 0\subset k_ 1\subset\ldots\subset k_ n\subset\ldots\) is a tower of number fields such that \(k_ n\) is Galois over \(k\), with \(\text{Gal}(k_ n/k)\simeq(\mathbb{Z}/p^ n)^ d\). The union of the \(k_ n\) is called a \(\mathbb{Z}^ d_ p\)-extension of \(k\). Let \(A_ n\) be the \(p\)-class group of \(k_ n\) and \(p^{e_ n}\) be the order of \(A_ n\). This paper deals with asymptotic estimates of \(e_ n\). When \(d=1\), one has Iwasawa's well-known formula: \(e_ n=\mu p^ n+\lambda n+\nu\) for \(n>>0\). When \(d\geq 2\), \textit{A. Cuoco} and the author [Math. Ann. 255, 235-258 (1981; Zbl 0437.12003)] showed an analogous asymptotic formula: \(e_ n=(m_ 0p^ n+\ell_ 0n+O(1))p^{(d-1)n}\), where \(m_ 0\) and \(\ell_ 0\) are some integers attached to ''the characteristic power series'' of the module \(X=\varprojlim A_ n\) over the algebra \(\Lambda=\mathbb{Z}_ p[[X_ 1,\ldots,X_ d]]\). In this paper, the author refines the above formula to \[ e_ n=(m_ 0p^ n+\ell_ 0n+\alpha^*)p^{(d- 1)n}+O(np^{(d-2)n}) \text{ for some real } \alpha^*. \] If either \(d=2\) or \(X\) has no nontrivial pseudo-null submodule, then \(\alpha^*\) is rational, but it is not known whether \(\alpha^*\) is so in general. The methods are homological, dealing mainly with \(\Lambda\)-modules and avoiding all number theory until the very end.